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Fully-Loaded Irish Colcannon by author Cleo Coyle

As mystery writers, murder is our business. As cozy mystery writers, so is word play. And that is primarily how this dish came about. Back in 2009, my husband and I were writing Roast Mortem, a book that pays tribute to the FDNY, which has a long history of Irish pride. During our collaboration, we joked about what might happen if we "loaded" the colcannon.

Wait, we thought, why not fully load it, like a baked potato?

Marc and I then put the recipe together much like New York City puts its cultural communities together. We started with a basic Irish colcannon of cabbage and potatoes; added an Italian kiss of olive oil and hug of warm, sweet garlic; and finished the dish with an American-style flourish of gooey melted cheddar and smoky crumbled bacon...

Our fully-loaded colcannon truly makes a wonderful side dish; it's addicting, nutritious, and it's practically exploding with comfort-food flavor. (Hey, no groaning, remember, puns were once the highest form of humor!) A slightly different version of this recipe appeared in our Coffeehouse Mystery, Roast Mortem, along with many more tasty recipes.

Step 2—Render bacon: While potatoes are boiling, chop bacon into small pieces and cook over a very low heat to render the fat. When bacon is brown, remove from pan and set aside.

Step 3—Sauté veggies: Turn the heat to medium, and add the olive oil to the drippings in the pan. Then add the garlic and onions and cook until the onions are translucent, about 3 minutes. Add cabbage and continue cooking another 5 minutes, stirring often to coat with the delicious flavors.

Step 4—Add milk and simmer: Reduce heat to low. Stir in milk, butter, salt, and white pepper; cover with a lid and cook until the cabbage is tender, about 8 minutes. (Test a few pieces to make sure the cabbage is cooked through before moving to the next step.)

Step 5—Mix and mash: Combine the hot cabbage and the potatoes. Mash with a metal potato masher or large fork until the ingredients are blended.

Tip - As you mash in the potatoes, they will soak upremaining liquid. If there is much more liquidthan what you see in my photo above, thencontinue to cook the mixture, over low heat,until the excess liquid evaporates.

Step 6—(Finish) Lock and load with cheese and bacon: Fold in the shredded cheese, which will melt in the heat of the mixture. Serve topped with crumbled bacon bits.